Can delete prior default langauge effect other langauge?

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client copied their domain to a new one and changed the default language from German to English. They inquired whether deleting the German language, which was once the main/default language, could cause issues with graphics or other elements and how to ensure it does not appear in Google listings.
Solution:
We recommend not deleting a language that was once set as default due to potential content defaults in that language. Instead, you can hide this language from the frontend. To do this, navigate to the WPML → Languages page, go to the Hide languages section, select the languages you want to hide, and click the Save button. For more detailed instructions, visit hiding languages on the front-end.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Thomas Henninger 1 day, 5 hours ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author	Posts
January 7, 2025 at 2:18 pm #16570026
Thomas Henninger	Background of the issue: I copied our whole domain to a new domain, hidden link. Initially, German was the default language, but I needed to change it to English. This change required many manual adjustments. Symptoms: No specific issue or error message mentioned. Questions: Can I delete the German language that was once the main/default language without causing hidden problems with graphics or other elements? Is the new default language completely independent?
January 7, 2025 at 2:42 pm #16570177
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)	Hello, thanks for contacting us. To be fair, it is difficult to say since I am not sure which changes have you made. Changing default language settings does not change the default language in which content was previously created, so you could still have some content default in German, for example, pages, strings, etc. I advise checking on this or testing it first in the staging site, before proceeding and deleting. But in general I would not recommend deleting a language that was once default, you can chose to hide it from frontend if that helps. Regards, Drazen
January 7, 2025 at 2:56 pm #16570298
Thomas Henninger	Thank you, how to hide it? Because I mean it still gets crawled and we dont want this in the google listings.
January 7, 2025 at 3:02 pm #16570362
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)	Hello, To hide a language on the front-end, go to the WPML → Languages page and in the Hide languages section select all the languages that you want to hide. After selecting the languages click the Save button. - https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/hiding-languages-on-the-front-end/ Regards, Drazen
January 8, 2025 at 11:48 am #16573082
Thomas Henninger	Thank you very much Drazen, Thats what I needed. We can close Ticket. Thank you very much for your fast support.